


Puppy Love

by Anonymous



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Omniscient Narrator, Personality Swap, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Puppy Love, Unrequited Crush, magical mishaps, personality swap with felix's younger self more like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24487912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Because of a magical mishap, Felix's personality becomes similar to how it has been ten years ago. Meaning, the Blue Lions get to deal with a crybaby Felix who only wants his Dima.Dimitri, for his part, doesn't know what to do.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 12
Kudos: 149
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

After a taxing day of bandit clean-up duty and an artifact retrieval, both the Golden Deer and Blue Lions trudged their way back to Garreg Mach. Many of the students were too weary from the day's events to bother with small talk, but there were still some who had enough energy in them to be chatty.

"Natural."

"Erm, yes."

"Your hair color is natural."

"Th-that's what I said."

Lysithea narrowed her eyes. "And you never have been kidnapped and experimented on. Is that correct?"

Ashe's brows knitted together in consternation. "N-no, of course not! Where did you get the idea - ?"

"Fine, I see that I made an erroneous assumption," the girl huffed. "But it's not a silly one to make when your hair is that color."

"You mean gray...?"

Now it was Lysithea's turn to furrow her brows. She frowned up at him. "Gray? Your hair is clearly white, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. It only looks that way during the evening or when it's particularly bright outside, but my hair is actually gray." Ashe tilted his head, puzzled. "You never noticed before? Surely we crossed paths a couple of times in the halls."

Frankly, Lysithea seldom noticed anyone, whether it be in the halls or the dining area, especially not in the library. She typically had her eyes glued to a book than paying mind to those around her. In fact, if it hadn't been for this joint mission with the Blue Lions, she never would have known that Ashe existed. She held no compunction in informing the boy as such. 

Ashe wilted. "I - I see..." 

Behind the pair, Sylvain plodded onwards with his shoulders hunched over, long-sufferingly listening to Lorenz prattling to him about his recent score. Score - as in, scoring with the ladies, which was absurd because Sylvain knew that Lorenz was incapable of attracting a girl with that atrocious haircut of his. Distantly, Sylvain wondered if this was how Felix had felt whenever he would brag to the younger about his latest conquests. 

"As you can see, she was absolutely taken with me," Lorenz punctuated his recount with flourish. "As you would say, can you top that, Sylvain?" Bowlcut man proceeded to laugh haughtily.

Sylvain dragged a hand down his face. 

"No need to be jealous if your attempts fall short. Women possess delicate sensibilities, so it would be of no surprise if your indelicate flirtations would offend them."

Sylvain's hand dropped. This guy wasn't even trying to be subtle; he was trying to pick a fight with him! "I'd say you're being delusional. Even women with low standards wouldn't fancy a ponce like you," he snapped. 

Lorenz's eye twitched, but he quickly covered his irritation with a smug smile. "That's quite a reaction, Sylvain. I didn't expect you to be so defensive."

"I am not being defensive," Sylvain retorted defensively. "I'm just calling out your shit, shithead."

The other boy gasped. "No need to be crude!" Lorenz shrieked in aghast. "That is no way for a noble to talk!"

"Screw that! Just admit that you're fooling yourself into thinking that there's a girl who'd fall for you!"

"Oh, like how you'd fool yourself into believing that your atrocious lines bring you any success?"

"At least my lines get my point across. Your flowery poetry nonsense only confuses the crap outta people!"

"Nonsense?" Lorenz shrieked again. "How dare you!"

"Could you two please shut up?" Lysithea snapped, turning her head to pin them a glare. "I can hardly hold a conversation with your squabbling!"

Ashe, ever the peacemaker, tried to defuse the tension. "Now, now..."

Spectating the fiasco a few yards away was an exasperated, if not resigned, Ingrid who was accompanied by an wryly amused Claude. "Goddess, I hate it when Sylvain and Lorenz are together," she sighed. "It's always a shouting match with those two."

"You should see how Lorenz is with Ferdinand," Claude snorted. "They're much worse."

Ingrid gave him a puzzled glance. "I thought that Lorenz and Ferdinand get along quite well."

"They do. That's the thing."

While Claude was content in hanging back and allowing the chaos to unfold (for his own entertainment), Dimitri took his role as house leader seriously. The prince marched ahead with the intent of breaking up the fight, not that there was much of one what with Lysithea verbally browbeating the boys into submission. If there wasn't a fight to break up, then Dimitri could at least make Sylvain apologize to Lorenz for his comment (even if he did secretly agree with him). 

However, in his weary state of being, Dimitri was more so dragging his feet than marching, which meant that he was more susceptible to snagging his toe on a misplaced stone. What right did a stone have in obstructing a prince's path? Who knew, but whatever the reason, it had led to Dimitri tripping. 

Dimitri yelped as he collided onto Ignatz's back, who yelped squawked as he was propelled into Annette's space, who squeaked and flailed and crashed against Hanneman. Hanneman, who had been tasked to deliver the stolen artifact back to the Archbishop, fell forward and accidentally sent the shiny orb flying. The orb sailed over heads until it landed on top of one, which happened to be Felix's.

"Ow," Felix groused, rubbing his head. "The hell?" He looked around, disgruntled, until his eyes spotted the artifact that was supposed to be in Hanneman's care. Confused, he reached down to grab it.

"Wait, don't touch it with your bare hands!" Hanneman tried to warn him, but it was too late. The second Felix's fingertips brushed against the orb's surface, a current of blue-white electricity zapped him. Felix cried out in pain and alarm as coils of lightning wrapped around his body, freezing him in his half-crouched position. Everyone cried as well, panicking. 

Dimitri, horrified, moved to reach out to the swordsman, but he was stopped by Byleth. 

"It might hurt you as well," the professor shouted. 

"We can't just do nothing!" Dimitri shouted back. 

Before Byleth could respond, Felix's screams suddenly stopped. He collapsed onto the ground, dead to the world. Mercedes and Marianne wasted no time rushing to his side. After tending to him, the healers confirmed that there wasn't anything wrong with him - physically, that was. While that allayed some of the group's concerns, that didn't fully bring them relief, especially when they noticed that the orb was missing.

* * *

"I'm afraid that there isn't much that I can do," Rhea said remorsefully. "All we can do now is pray to the Goddess for this young man's swift recovery."

The Blue Lions were predictably crestfallen. Not in despair, though, since the Archbiship had assured them that Felix's health hadn't been compromised. While their classmate wouldn't depart from this world any time soon, that still didn't mean that he would wake up. 

As a result, there were quite a number of people feeling guilty for Felix's current state. 

Sylvain and Lorenz lamented that if they hadn't fought, then Dimitri wouldn't have a reason to walk towards them, leading him to wind up tripping. Dimitri grieved that it had been his own clumsiness that had caused the accidental domino effect. Ignatz and Annette tearfully insisted that they should have been more attentive to their surroundings; otherwise, none of this would have happened. Hanneman despondently said that he should have taken the time to explain the dangers of handling unknown artifacts. 

Claude awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and conceded to himself that he shouldn't have lingered behind; he ought to be a more capable house leader. Ingrid bemoaned that she should have wrangled Sylvain as usual; she had done so for years! Even Marianne, who hadn't been involved with the incident whether indirectly or directly or in whatever capacity that would've induced guilt, felt culpable for being herself. No one understood her logic, but they decided to leave it at that. 

"But he will wake up, won't he?" Annette said, desperately grasping onto the fringes of hope. "He just got to!"

"Hanneman and Rhea said that they don't know too much of what the artifact does, but they believe that it's likely that Felix will," Byleth said. 

The Blue Lions latched onto that, tentatively optimistic that they would see their friend up and about again. The Golden Deer shared their joy. Hilda made an offhand comment about Felix heading straight for the training grounds the second he would open his eyes, evoking laughter from all those who knew him. Sylvain joked about Felix getting mad about missing days' worth of training, and Leonie exclaimed that she could help him get back in shape. 

Mercedes cheerfully asked Lysithea if she could provide her the dessert recipe that the younger girl had made for Felix; when he would wake up, she wanted to bake him a cake to commemorate his recuperation. Lysithea readily agreed, and Annette and Ashe voiced their interest in assisting. Dedue added that he could create spicy dishes that Felix was partial to.

Soon enough, the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer were excitedly planning a party, even discussing about the arrangements in the corridors when Manuela had shooed them out of the infirmary. Well, all but one. Dimitri opted to stay behind.

"Your highness?" Dedue prompted.

"Go on ahead without me, Dedue," Dimitri said, giving him a weak smile. "There's...something that I wish to ruminate on." _Alone,_ was the unvoiced yet implied request, to which Dedue graciously heeded to after bowing. Manuela shortly left as well, but not until she got Dimitri to promise not to disturb Felix. Afterwards, it was just Dimitri and Felix in the room. 

With no one to witness, Dimitri dropped onto the chair next to Felix's bed and slouched heavily, gusting out a sigh. His eyes drifted over to Felix's face, noting that this was the first time in years that he had seen the other boy so peaceful. Normally, Felix would wear a scowl and furrowed brows marring his features, especially whenever Dimitri was within his periphery. But with Felix slumbering, his harsh lines were smoothed out, leaving behind a face that could only be described as handsome. 

Pretty, actually. Felix had always been pretty, but he appeared prettier when he wasn't expressing his irritation, typically directed at Dimitri. Dimitri was captivated by the sight and was nearly tempted to cup his hand against Felix's cheek. Yet he stayed where he was and kept his arms crossed against his chest. For all the frustration and anger that he had caused Felix, Dimitri knew that he hardly had any right to touch him in such a way. Not like how he had once been able to when they had been children. 

He sighed again and rubbed his face. Tonight, he must compose a letter to Rodrigue, informing him about his son's state. While he was hopeful that Felix would come back to him - to _them_ \- he should at least prepare for the worst. 

* * *

Dimitri didn't need to send the letter to Rodrigue after all. As it turned out, Felix had woken up this morning. 

When the Blue Lions had collectively gathered outside of the infirmary to visit Felix, Manuela rushed out with exciting news. "He's awake!" 

Immediately, the students flooded inside, not waiting for the professor to give her word. There, sitting blearily on the bed, was Felix. His hair fell messily on his shoulders and his clothes were rumpled, but the boy was a heavenly sight for everyone here. 

"Felix!" Annette cried out, lunging at him. "You're alright!"

Felix startled at the impact of her hug, staring down at her with wide eyes. He didn't frown or say anything snarky, which was unexpected, but he was likely too dazed from his sleep. Somehow, this encouraged Ashe to copy Annette and wrap his own arms around Felix. Mercedes giggled and joined in, which then elicited a keening groan out of Felix. 

"Hey, I wanna hug my bestie too," Sylvain pouted. 

"Felix must be out of it if he isn't shoving everyone away," Ingrid chuckled. Dimitri, likewise, laughed at the scene. The joviality of the atmosphere was near intoxicating, making him feel higher than the clouds. It could be from the utter relief of seeing Felix well again; it could be from the comical situation that Felix was in. It wasn't everyday where anyone got to embrace the usually grouchy swordsman. Dimitri wondered if he could test his luck in doing the same. 

Felix wriggled free from their grasp. When his eyes met with Dimitri's, he did something that shocked not only him but everyone in the room. 

Felix _smiled._ A large, beaming grin spread across his face as he exclaimed merrily, "Dima!"


	2. Chapter 2

"So," said Claude, "I heard that the young lord Fraldarius woke up."

"Th-that he did," Dimitri mumbled, studiously observing the contents of his plate. 

"So," Claude said again, dragging out the word, "why aren't you guys in a festive mood?"

A peculiar silence fell over the table. For Dimitri and Ingrid, it was the stifling awkwardness. For Ashe, Annette, and Dedue, it was the lasting bewilderment from the previous hour. For Sylvain, it was the desperately restrained laughter; he had been threatened by Ingrid that if he didn't stop laughing, she would give him a black eye to match the one he was already sporting. For Mercedes, she was just conveniently absent.

From the table next to them, the Golden Deer glanced at them, sharing their house leader's curiosity about the Blue Lions' strange mood. And they wondered why Sylvain had a black eye.

Well, they could guess why: the guy was an incorrigible flirt with a list of exes that ran as far as the perimeter of the monastery, after all. There was bound to be one angry ex-girlfriend who would sock him in the face. But why didn't their healer patch him up already? Or send him over to Manuela? Questions and more questions...

" _So_ ," said Claude.

"Claude, don't you have anywhere else to be?" Ingrid interjected impatiently. 

"Sheesh, calm down. No need to show me your angry lines, Ingrid." Claude offered her an easy smile. "Just wondering what's up."

"Well, _what's up_ is none of your business," she sniffed. "Begone."

"Now, Ingrid, there's no need for that," Dimitri intervened gently, although the wavering in his voice betrayed his nervousness. "Claude was worried about Felix's well-being yesterday, was he not? It's understandable why he would want to know why we're... Ah, that is to say..."

Dimitri trailed off ungracefully, and another bout of silence soon followed. 

"Glum?" Claude filled in for him. 

"Wh-why would we be glum?" Dimitri wheezed out, a tinge of desperation coloring his obviously contrived laughter. "Felix is awake! We have no reason to be glum."

"Doesn't mean that you can't be glum." While his smile was still in place, Claude's gaze sharpened. Whether that glint in his eyes was because of interest or suspicion or whatever it might be, there was no point in hiding what was already noticed by the Golden Deer house leader. "Did something happen?" he probed.

Dimitri began to sweat. Ingrid shoveled food into her mouth until her cheeks bulged. Ashe and Annette traded panicked looks. For some reason, Dedue decided to be unhelpful to the prince for once and proceeded to eat his breakfast quietly. Sylvain covered his face with his hands.

"Uhhh," Dimitri said. Before he could form proper words, the doors to the dining hall burst open, startling everyone. Standing at the threshold was Felix, whose hair was pulled back into an intricate braid - wait, were those _flowers_ woven into his hair? - and who was donning the complete uniform ensemble. He wore the uniform jacket, all buttoned up and everything, looking every bit like the perfect model student.

While the appearance was rather off-putting - it was very _un-Felix-like_ \- what really shocked everyone was the tears brimming in his eyes. 

"Dima!" Felix cried out, and sprinted towards the Blue Lions' table. He threw his arms around Dimitri's neck and dragged him down for a hug. He buried his face into the prince's neck and sobbed, "I missed you! Where did you go? Don't leave me again!"

Dimitri turned red as his hands stiffly hovered over the swordsman's back, uncertain as to what he should do.

Claude stared at the scene in blank incomprehension, and then wondered if it had been him who had touched the artifact instead.

He pinched himself. Ow. 

"Is that - " Raphael suddenly cut himself off and his hands flew to his throat. All attention went from Felix - or _was_ he Felix? - to Raphael, who was currently choking. Alarmed shouts filled the room as people surrounded the large student. Leonie was quick to take action by diving behind him and performing abdominal thrusts with her fists, but her arms couldn't wrap around the circumference of his bulky waist. 

"We - we're going to need someone strong to dislodge the food out of his throat!" she grunted.

While it would have been practical to have Dedue to save the day, what with his long arms and notable strength, Dimitri barged through the crowd before Dedue could get the chance to rise from his seat.

He took over Leonie's position and copied the same maneuver. With one push, Dimitri got Raphael to cough out a half-masticated Noa fruit, and he had accomplished this all the while unknowingly having Felix hanging off of his shoulders like a stubborn burr. 

Raphael panted. "Y-you saved my life," he croaked. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it," Dimitri dismissed.

"Also, I think you cracked my ribs..." With that said, Raphael collapsed.

That was when Mercedes came rushing into the dining hall, shouting, "Have you seen Felix?"

* * *

After Mercedes had spent five minutes apologizing for letting Felix run loose...

("I swear, I took my eyes off of him for a second, and then he's gone!")

...she explained what had occurred while the Blue Lions had departed to eat breakfast.

"I tried to tell him stories and sing him songs, but no matter what I did to distract him, all he could talk about was how much he wanted to be with his highness."

This caused Dimitri's cheeks to glow brighter. He had already been blushing because of Felix who had no qualms in snuggling into his chest. The overt display of affection brought discomfort to those who were unfamiliar with a touchy-feely Felix - a blatant oxymoron, for sure. In fact, to use touchy-feely as an adjective to describe Felix was so outlandish that many of the Blue Lions decided to omit the phrase "touchy-feely Felix" from their minds forever.

Meanwhile, Ingrid and Sylvain handled the situation with relative ease.

"This is just like how Felix used to be when we were younger," Sylvain had told them back in the infirmary. "He cried all the time, but his cries were the loudest whenever Dimitri didn't pay him any attention."

That spurred more questions for everyone: Had Felix always been a crybaby in his childhood? Did Felix really like Dimitri back then? When did Felix stop liking Dimitri? Why did Felix stop liking Dimitri? When did Felix stop being a crybaby and start becoming an edgy bastard? 

Yet, despite the answers that everyone wanted to know, they found that they couldn't utter them themselves - not when Dimitri looked so...forlorn. In an incredibly flustered way, especially with Felix nestling on his lap. That was what made the class so uncomfortable - the jarring display of touchy-feely Felix smack dab in the middle of the classroom. 

Byleth soon entered the classroom, not once batting an eye at Felix sitting on Dimitri. Without preamble, he explained, "Manuela theorized that Felix absorbed the artifact into his body after it electrocuted him. She believed that this resulted in having his personality devolve about ten years or so."

Murmurs and whispers broke out among the class. 

"Wait, are you saying that he's mentally seven-years-old?" Ashe asked incredulously.

Byleth shook his head. "No. Only his personality has been affected. Everything else - his mental faculties, memories - should be functioning just as well as they did before he touched the artifact."

"Which means," Ingrid began slowly, narrowing her eyes, "that Felix knows that he normally wouldn't be this attached to his highness."

As though prompted, everyone turned to look at Felix, who made a pitiful sound and tucked his face into Dimitri's chest. 

"This is never not going to be weird," Annette declared.

Earlier today, Mercedes had volunteered to stay in the infirmary while Manuela checked Felix's vitals. Dimitri had insisted on staying instead, but Manuela had deadpanned that she didn't want get an eyeful of young love as she worked. At the mention of "young love," Dimitri had sputtered incoherently and had done his recurring rendition of a tomato. As the rest of the Blue Lions had filtered out of the room, Mercedes had done what she could to keep Felix occupied. 

Testing had been miraculously short, and Mercedes's handiwork had been miraculously quick, attributing to Felix's hairstyle and immaculate state of dress. "I might have taken advantage of Felix's compliance," Mercedes had sheepishly giggled when the question of Felix's appearance had been brought up. 

Felix certainly was a vision to behold - whether it be the case of shock or awe. The former and latter were equally expressed by the prince. Dimitri, without realizing it, had stared at Felix with no reservation, captivated by the sight of his stunningly pretty friend. Felix had always been pretty, but he didn't think that Felix could be _this_ pretty. Felix resembled a woodland nymph, or a fairy from fairy tales, or perhaps even a damsel trapped in a high tower - 

"If Felix still has his memories, then there must be a reason for why he's so, um, clingy," Ingrid mused, her brows furrowing in thought. 

"Well, given that his personality has regressed, it seems to me that he's letting go of his inhibitions," Mercedes suggested.

"Mercie, are you saying that Felix has been wanting to hug his highness all this time?" Annette blurted. The query caused Felix to stiffen against Dimitri's tentative hold. Dimitri, for his part, felt as though he had been ejected from his seat and was flying high into the sky. 

"Hold off any discussions for later," Byleth cut in monotonously. "Class is in session." 

* * *

According to Byleth, the effect that the orb had on Felix should last for a few days. No exact time frame, but at least Felix would return to normal soon enough.

As Dimitri smiled broadly in a show of relief, the rest of the Blue Lions stared at him skeptically.

Yeah, _sure_ Dimitri was happy that Felix would go back to being his scowling, angry, grouchy self. Nope, Dimitri certainly wasn't going to miss having Felix lovingly cling onto his arm as he sweetly called him Dima instead of Boar. That adoring if not perplexed expression on his face didn't mean anything whatsoever - not even when his features would contort as such whenever his eyes landed on Felix.

A few days, huh?

* * *

"So," said Claude, "how'd you get a black eye?"

"I accidentally knocked into Bernadetta," Sylvain said with a careless shrug. "Spooked her pretty bad that her flailing fist went right into my eye. Mercedes was busy with Felix and Professor Manuela kicked us out of the infirmary. Anyway, it doesn't look too bad, does it?"

"What? That's it?" Hilda pouted, clinking her teacup onto her saucer. "And here I was hoping for something more interesting!"

"Life's already interesting as it is," Sylvain snorted. "We have Baby Felix letting out his _inhibitions_."

"Any idea how Big Boy Felix will handle the aftermath?" Claude inquired.

"Badly, no doubt, but maybe this'll help him learn to stop repressing his feelings for his highness." 


	3. Chapter 3

There was a silent unanimous agreement that Dimitri would handle Felix. 

Mercedes and Annette volunteered to help, eager to better acquaint themselves with the sweet-natured Felix. Sylvain and Ingrid, both who had prior experience with Baby Felix, also pitched in their willingness to get involved.

But it went without saying that the one person who would take care of Felix was Dimitri. 

On the first day, Dimitri was nervous and flustered. He didn't know what he should do and was concerned that he would screw up. His memories of the far past were rather foggy, so he couldn't derive much from experience. What did stand out was all the times when Dimitri had accidentally upset Felix, rendering the Fraldarius child to tears, and all the times when Dimitri had placated him with kisses and hugs. 

The thought of kissing and hugging Felix now made Dimitri feel hot with embarrassment. 

On the second day, however, Dimitri was romping through a field of flowers, gaily chasing after a giggling Felix. 

The sight was so pure, so tender, so adorable that everyone watching felt like they had to decapitate bandits just to ground themselves back to reality. There was no way that reality could be this pink and fluffy. 

"Wow," said Byleth, "what a turnaround."

The class made murmurs of agreement, both enraptured and weirded out by the sight.

There wasn't any point in mentioning this, but, well, this was Felix and Dimitri. Being happy together. And Felix was _smiling_.

The situation was so outlandish, especially given Felix's reputation as a hardass, that the Golden Deer and Black Eagles had to drop by to pay witness to the merriment. If they didn't find the situation to be worrisome, then they found it morbidly fascinating. Caspar, on the other hand, refused to believe that Baby Felix was actually Felix. An imposter, he insisted. 

"You do realize that there were seventeen of us who saw what happened, right?" Leonie said, quirking a brow. 

"A body swap when everyone retired to their rooms," Caspar retaliated.

"In the dead of night where even those in sentry duty couldn't have detected the switch," Linhardt appended to back up his friend. 

"Why would anyone want to do such a thing?" Ferdinand scoffed. "For that matter, put that much effort in placing a doppelganger in Felix Fraldarius's stead?"

"To study his Major Crest, of course," Linhardt scoffed back. "Duh."

"I think you're forgetting the fact that Professor Manuela would've noticed that she would be dealing with an imposter," deadpanned Edelgard. 

Caspar and Linhardt traded looks, and then they both said in unison, "A clone."

"Just stop."

Dimitri caught up and wrapped his arms around Felix, eliciting a delighted shriek out of the swordsman. Dimitri laughed and spun them, causing Felix's legs to swing in the air from the acceleration. Felix's eyes were scrunched up from how wide his grin was, and Dimitri buried his face into Felix's hair as though that could conceal his own beam. 

The two were the very image of bliss. They were like - like - like kittens and rainbows and cinnamon rolls, and everyone was nearly compelled to make a vow to protect them from everything cruel in the world. Because they were just that cute. 

But then Hubert suddenly slapped himself, drawing strange looks from those around him.

* * *

On the third day, Dimitri and Felix were nigh impossible to separate. They paraded their affection everywhere they went like the oblivious infatuated couple that they were. What had been adorable was now bordering on sickening, what with how increasingly affectionate they were becoming.

Comparing the first day to the third was such a whiplash that the Blue Lions (and everyone else, for that matter) wondered if this was truly happening. Did Felix actually undergo a personality alteration or did he and Dimitri maintain a secret relationship this whole time? Because there was no way that they could be this competent in romancing each other. 

Like how Felix would perch himself on Dimitri's knee as Dimitri would spoon-feed him. Or how Dimitri would lavish him his adoration while Felix would snuggle into his embrace. Things like that. 

_Which_ made the situation worse knowing that Felix was emotionally a seven-year-old child right now. 

Perhaps everyone was projecting romantic overtures onto the two when they were probably just being platonically loving. Not that many friends would do the things that Dimitri and Felix would do, but, um, one could argue that each friendship was unique to every pair. 

Like how they would look into each other's eyes as though they were their whole world and that nothing else mattered.

Yes. Clearly platonic.

But no one dared to confront Dimitri about it because of two reasons: One, they knew and could trust Dimitri not to take advantage of Felix in his current state. Two, they didn't have the heart to upset the dear prince when he was having the time of his life. 

They ought to give him a warning, though. The Blue Lions were quite aware of what the repercussions might be after Felix would return to his normal self. Hell would inevitably break loose! Someone might lose an eye or something. That was if Felix would remember everything that had occurred. 

Pray to the goddess that wouldn't be the case. No one wanted to know what would happen if Felix knew that Dimitri had called him "Fe-Fe" and that he had giggled-snorted in response.

Shockingly, Dimitri himself wasn't thinking about the aforementioned repercussions. Perhaps he was living life to the fullest until Felix would revert. Perhaps he just didn't care because he finally got to be intimate with his old friend again. Perhaps he was just someone who lacked foresight and didn't realize that his old friend would sooner commit regicide than reconcile their differences. 

Either way, Dimitri didn't exhibit any signs of worry. 

Which made the Blue Lions worry for him. 

"So...who's gonna do it?"

Annette and Ashe shifted their gaze to the floor, fidgeting anxiously on the spot. Ingrid was grimacing, Mercedes was frowning, and Dedue stared blankly at the far corner of the room. Sylvain ran his fingers through his hair, feeling just as uneasy about the matter at hand. But someone had to say it, and Sylvain just happened to be that someone.

"Ingrid?" he prompted hopefully. As expected, he was now on the receiving end of the girl's venomous glare. 

"Since you brought it up, why don't you volunteer yourself, Sylvain?" she huffed. 

Sylvain gave a strained laugh. "Like his highness would take me seriously."

Ingrid narrowed her eyes. "Oh, how convenient for you."

"Very," he agreed. "But in all seriousness."

"I, um - sorry about this, but I do think that Ingrid is the best choice," Ashe stammered, ducking his head when the girl shot him a betrayed look. "Sorry! But - but, well, you're very forthright, so..."

"Yes, everyone knows how sincere you are!" Annette piped up earnestly. "You're not one to mince words."

"Indeed," Dedue agreed, face devoid of emotion.

"All qualities to be expected of a noble knight!" Mercedes enthused, clapping her hands.

Ingrid looked at the group, her expression contorting in complex ways as though she didn't know whether to settle for joy or anger. She settled for anger in the end. "You're just saying that because you don't want to confront his highness!" she accused.

There was no point in denying the obvious. 

"It isn't just that, Ingrid," Sylvain pressed gently. "You're the only one out of all of us who can do it. Like I said, I can't because his highness won't believe me. Dedue can't do it because he'll just brush him off about him always motherhenning him."

Dedue grunted in reluctant assent. 

"Oh yeah? Well, what about Mercedes? Surely his highness can trust her insight," Ingrid argued. 

"I don't have the strength to say anything to him," Mercedes sighed. "Seeing not only Dimitri's crestfallen face but Felix's as well would just tear my heart in two."

Ingrid scowled, but...she couldn't complain. Mercedes was more on the soft side despite being firm when necessary. It also didn't help how she and Baby Felix had built a rapport that was akin to a doting sibling relationship.

"No need to say anything about Ashe and Annette," Sylvain added.

"Um, not that I disagree, but...why?" Ashe queried, puzzled. 

"Uh, because you'd likely chicken out before you get the chance to say anything?"

Ashe hung his head, abashed, while Annette opened her mouth to protest, only to close it when she realized that, yes, she very much would chicken out. As the two youngest of the class sulked, Ingrid's scowl deepened. 

"Seriously?"

"Ingrid, how far are we going to let this continue?" Sylvain nearly cried out as he threw his arms in the air. "We gotta make an intervention!"

"Okay! Okay! _Fine_!" 

And so Ingrid stomped around the grounds until she found the prince and his constant companion—they were having a tea party—as the Blue Lions inconspicuously (not really) trailed after her. Ingrid mustered up her courage, balled her fists, and marched right up to them with the intent to settle matters once and for all.

Five minutes later, Ingrid dragged her feet back to the group, ashamed. She was shamefully gnawing on a biscuit while at it.

She didn't do it. She couldn't do it. She had never seen Dimitri so happy before. She...couldn't destroy his happiness.

The Blue Lions looked at her with commiseration in their eyes.

They were so screwed.

* * *

The Blue Lions ended up asking Byleth to do the deed.

Byleth, with the cool calmness that he was famously known for, said, "I'm capable of doing many things. I've killed and plundered. I ripped out a man's spinal cord when he was still breathing. I gouged eyes and used them as fish bait. I even drank orange juice after eating a mouthful of mint. But _that_? What makes you think that I'm capable of making Dimitri cry? Hell no."

Sylvain asked, "Did you actually use eyes for fish bait?"

"No, I was being dramatic, but you get the picture."

They sure did. Drinking juice after munching on mint was the most badass thing anyone could do. But making their fair prince weep? Nuh uh.

* * *

Dimitri wasn't stupid. He knew that this couldn't last forever. After all, the verdict was that the artifact's influence would disappear within a few days, and already had three days passed. 

But while Dimitri knew, he couldn't help but indulge himself. 

Slumbering next to him was Felix, looking every bit like a fair prince from his childhood storybooks. Felix's pale face was smooth from its usual scowling creases, appearing soft yet porcelain. The graceful slope of his nose and mouth, the thin sweep of his brows, the way his lashes made their fragile rest on his cheeks like feathers - Dimitri was captivated. 

But where Felix was ethereal when sleeping, he was absolutely breathtaking when awake. 

Whenever Felix would direct his wide amber eyes and grace him his beautiful, unrestrained, happy smile, Dimitri would be robbed of his senses. Any inkling of rationality would be thrown out the window, and the prince would be a slave to this selfish, pitiable indulgence of his.

Dimitri knew that the right thing to do was to leave Felix be, to leave his childhood friend with his dignity intact. But he was...so weak. So very weak.

For whatever punishment Felix would deliver when this dream would end, Dimitri would gladly take - just in exchange for this precious moment that he had with him. 

That was why the prince had Felix in his arms tonight, cradled tightly to his chest.

* * *

When Felix woke up, he woke up to a raging headache. His headache became more pronounced when he noticed that snuggling up against him was none other than the boar.

Felix did what he could do when groggy and had pain throbbing behind his sockets: he kicked the boar off the bed. 

"Wha - Felix?" the beast warbled. His hair was tousled and his clothes skewed as he gazed up at him dumbly. 

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Felix hissed.

Dimitri gaped at him before bursting out, "Felix! You're back to normal!"

"Nng!" Felix held his head, wincing from the volume. "Quiet down, you idiot! It's too early to deal with you!"

"O-oh, my apologies," Dimitri quickly replied in a hushed whisper. When Felix could bear to open his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of Dimitri's guilty face. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"Answering my question would be a nice start."

"Erm, yes, well..." He looked away for a moment. "This is actually my room...?"

"What," Felix said flatly. 

"What is it?"

"Why on earth would I be in your room of all places? That doesn't make - " Felix cut himself off when he noticed that this room was indeed not his room. There was a lance propped next to the desk, which had neat stacks of paper and books. Not that Felix was a bad student - at least, he didn't think so - but his desk was relatively bare. And he certainly would be caught dead housing a lame weapon like a lance in his room.

He looked around. There were no swords, no whetstones, no polishing oils. There weren't his boots or his bag. There wasn't even that stupid rock that Sylvain, for whatever reason, had given him to "take good care of." (Felix didn't know why he bothered keeping it.)

Felix took a moment to process this.

"Why am I in your room?" he elected to ask instead.

Dimitri gulped. "I-I'm afraid that's a long story..."

"Start. Talking," Felix demanded darkly.

"Um. How much do you remember...?"

* * *

When news of Felix's recovery made its rounds throughout the monastery, he was greeted with cheers. 

Felix returned them with frigid glares.

"Man, I'm starting to miss Baby Felix," complained Hilda. She snagged a cookie from the tray and nibbled on it. "He was much cuter than Mr. Grumpy Pants."

"Hey, all kids gotta grow up some time, right?" Claude quipped, sloshing a bit of his tea. "Even if they have to go through their edgy teenage phase."

Which was funny to hear seeing how they themselves were teenagers. 

Sylvain, who was one year away from non-teenagehood, added, "Eh, you get used to it. There are perks to having Felix being a grouch."

Hilda shot him a highly dubious look. "And what's that?"

"That." The Golden Deer students turned their heads to see what Sylvain was pointing to. Little ways far from them were Felix and Dimitri, who were conversing with each other. It was almost jarring to see them together after Felix had spent the last week actively avoiding Dimitri more so than usual. 

While the trio couldn't hear what was being said, they could gauge from body language alone that Felix was snapping harshly at Dimitri. Dimitri wilted in dismay, looking every bit like a scolded puppy. Felix stiffened, heavily sighed, and said something that looked comparable to him prying his own teeth out. Dimitri then perked up, beaming at him with the radiance that rivaled the sun. If Dimitri had a tail, it would be wagging up a dust cloud. 

Felix grimaced, but that didn't hide how his cheeks colored. He then spun on his heel and stormed away, leaving Dimitri to eagerly chase after him.

There was a moment of silence. 

"How long have they been like that?" Claude asked.

"Ehhh." Sylvain shrugged. "A year, maybe?"

"Well, I'm not sure if that was cringy or adorable," Hilda said, "but what I do know is that it's entertaining."

"Ha! See?"

While it was clear that Dimitri and Felix couldn't return to what they had when Felix had been cursed, it was also clear that didn't mean they didn't have something to begin with. 


End file.
